


The Acrobatic Art of Romance

by Nimori



Category: Prince of Tennis
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-01-10
Updated: 2010-01-10
Packaged: 2017-10-06 02:44:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,051
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/48834
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nimori/pseuds/Nimori
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Two days in the love life of Kikumaru Eiji.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Acrobatic Art of Romance

"Well?" Oishi asked when Eiji paused for breath while describing Suzu-chan's new shirt. "Are you going to ask her out?"

"What?" Eiji gaped so long his anago slid out from between his chopsticks and landed on his lap. "Of course not. I don't date girls, I'm gay. Oishi! How could you not know that about me?"

Oishi rubbed the back of his head, cheeks pink. "I... well... you don't date _anyone_, so how was I supposed to know?"

Eiji hit him. "You just do! The same way I know your favourite ice cream flavour is boring old strawberry."

"You know that because I order it all the time."

"Exactly!" Eiji jabbed his chopsticks in the air for punctuation and then scooped the anago from his lap. Oishi did that thing where he tried not to wince and ended up smiling too widely, but Eiji ate it anyway. It wasn't like it fell on the floor, and anyway eel was his favourite.

"It's just... I've never seen you flirt with anyone. You never even told me if you like someone." Oishi bit his lip. "You have sauce on your pants."

Eiji stole Oishi's napkin and dabbed at his lap. "I happen to be far too busy for romance, that's all."

"Okay," said Oishi, and Eiji just knew he was calculating all the time Eiji spent playing video games and talking on the phone with friends every night.

"Hoi!" Eiji tossed the sticky napkin back at Oishi and propped his feet up on his desk. "I wonder where Suzu-chan got that shirt?" He sat up. "Oishi! How could you not know I'm gay?"

* * *

By the time practice ended Eiji was so distracted that he only objected once to paying for Momo and Echizen's burgers, and he didn't even notice that one or both had been stealing his fries until they were all gone. Instead of stealing theirs in retaliation, Eiji sighed and toyed with his straw. He'd thought everyone knew he liked boys, but apparently not. Maybe that was why he didn't have a boyfriend.

"Am I not gay enough?" he asked suddenly, and Momo choked on a pickle.

"You could be gayer, senpai," Echizen said.

"I don't want to be gayer. I like me the way I am." Eiji drummed his fingers against his tray. "I'm lovable. Why don't I have a boyfriend?"

"Have you asked anyone out?"

"You're taking this way too calmly, Ochibi! This is a serious crisis."

"Che. Ask people out until one of them says yes, then you'll have a boyfriend."

"Urk," Momo said. He was turning a bit purple. Echizen thumped him on the back until he wheezed.

"If it's so easy, why aren't you dating anyone, eh?" Eiji asked as Momo swiped his drink and swallowed half of it in one gulp.

"Are you crazy?" Echizen tugged his cap lower, looking over his shoulder like a lovesick classmate was about to pounce on him -- which, Eiji had to admit, happened several times a week. "Why would I want someone calling me all the time and wanting to go places and do things with me? You two are bad enough."

Eiji slumped back in his chair and buried his face in his hands. "You're right, Ochibi. Dating sounds wonderful."

* * *

Eiji walked home alone, fingers laced behind his head. Now that he thought about it, having a boyfriend sounded like so much fun. He wanted one -- no, he _needed_ one. He didn't know how he'd survived so long on tennis and ice cream. He needed affection. _Attention_.

Echizen's advice sounded too easy, but Eiji had little else to go on so he decided to try it. All that remained was to choose the lucky recipient of his love.

"Hoi," he said glumly, and bounced his racquet bag on his shoulder. He didn't know how to do that either.

If he could have anyone in the world it would be Oishi, but unlike certain people Eiji paid attention to his doubles partner's sexual orientation. Not Oishi then, but someone who loved tennis -- preferably someone who didn't play doubles, because Eiji didn't want to hurt his new boyfriend's feelings, which was totally what would happen if Eiji had to explain that he only ever wanted to play doubles with Oishi.

He reached his house and turned up the walk. He had an hour before he had to help make dinner, so he dodged his siblings and went straight to his room, where he tore a sheet of paper out of his notebook and fished his favourite pencil - the one with the cat-shaped eraser - from his bag.

_Eiji's Ideal Boyfriend_, he wrote.

> _1\. Likes tennis._
> 
> 2\. Plays singles.
> 
> 3\. Gay.

He paused to nibble on the eraser's left ear, and then added:

> _4\. Hot._

Well. That left exactly one person within an hour's train ride. Eiji dropped his pencil and found his phone.

"Tezuka."

"Buchou! Want to have ice cream with me tomorrow?"

There was a funny little click and the line went dead. Huh. Eiji hit redial.

"Tezuka."

"So, Tezuka-buchou, ice cream?"

_Click_.

Eiji blinked at the phone, and then shrugged and pulled out his math homework. Tezuka was a bit stuffy so he probably just didn't approve of being asked out over the phone. It was okay. Eiji could corner him at morning practice.

* * *

Tezuka, being tall, was harder to pounce on than Echizen, but Eiji's acrobatics weren't famed throughout the world of middle school tennis for nothing. To Tezuka's credit, he barely oofed when Eiji landed on his back.

"Good morning, Tezuka-buchou!"

The club room chatter died a quick painful death. Fuji's eyes nearly opened with the force of his rising eyebrows, and Inui knocked over his latest juice in his haste to grab his notebook.

"Kikumaru. Off." A sudden pinch to the ulnar nerve enforced the order and Eiji dropped to his feet.

"Nyah, Tezuka, I hope you haven't forgotten our date tonight."

Tezuka's mouth opened, but nothing came out. Eiji wondered if he was getting a cold.

"Eiji," Oishi hissed, one sock dangling forgotten from his toes. "What are you doing?"

"You told me I should date, so I'm dating."

"But... the captain..."

"What? You think he's not good enough for me?" Eiji planted his hands on his hips and stomped one foot. "I'm not going to let you talk about my boyfriend like that, Oishi. I'm your doubles partner and always will be but I'm dating Tezuka now and you're just going to have to live with that."

Eiji had never quite seen that expression on Tezuka's face, but that was a good thing; Tezuka's emotional unavailability would have to change if he wanted to date Eiji. Eiji blew him a kiss and went to change out of his uniform.

* * *

"Tezuka! Wait up, I'll walk you home." Eiji's legs hurt from all the laps Tezuka had made him run and Tezuka seemed to speed up rather than slowing down, but Eiji caught up to him at the corner anyway.

"I'm sorry, buchou, I should have realized I can't flaunt our relationship in front of the other members. It would be inappropriate." Eiji was proud of the speech. He'd spent most of English class perfecting it. "Can I hold your hand now or are we too close to the school?"

"Kikumaru. Go home."

"What kind of date would that be?"

"We are not dating. I don't want a boyfriend."

"Nyah, don't be silly. We're perfect for each other."

"We have nothing in common."

"Tennis."

"Besides that."

"What else is there?"

Tezuka opened his mouth, then closed it.

"See?" Eiji linked his arm through Tezuka's. "You don't do anything else and neither do I. And you already like Oishi so I don't have to worry about you being jealous."

"Everyone likes Oishi." Tezuka freed his arm and kept walking.

"I know! Isn't he great? It would be a lot easier if I could date Oishi. I wish he liked boys."

"So do I," Tezuka muttered.

"But Ochibi says I need to ask people out so--"

Tezuka stopped so suddenly that Eiji ran into him. "_Echizen_ told you to do this?"

"Sure. He said I'd never get a boyfriend if I didn't make the first move. Why are we stopping? Is this where you live?"

"No." Tezuka's nostrils flared and he took several deep breaths before he started walking again. "Kikumaru. Please come to my house for dinner."

Eiji flung his arm around Tezuka's neck. "Great! We'll have so much fun being boyfriends!"

* * *

Eiji sat on Tezuka's bed with his knees pressed together and his hands clasped on his lap. It was the only way he could remember to not fidget.

"So, Tezuka-buchou, is this what you do after practice?"

Tezuka, all the way across the room at the desk, did not look up from his book. "Aa."

"Every day?"

"Aa."

Eiji fiddled with the bedside lamp, and then remembered he wasn't supposed to disturb Tezuka and folded his hands again. "Is it a good book?"

"Aa."

"What's it about?"

"The Decembrist revolt."

"Hoi?"

"Russian history."

"You said it wasn't homework."

"It's not."

"Oh." Eiji bit his lip. "I'm sorry, Tezuka-buchou, but I don't think you're the right boy for me. We just don't have all that much in common. I hope we can still be friends."

"Aa," Tezuka said.

Eiji let himself out.

* * *

"I've never broken up with anyone before," Eiji said, curling around his phone and Oishi's reassuring voice.

"It's for the best, Eiji. Buchou really shouldn't date members of the team."

"I guess." He knew Oishi was right but it still hurt.

"Besides, now you're free to meet someone a little more... outgoing than Tezuka. Someone you'd have more to talk about with."

"Oishi? Would you date me? If you liked boys?"

"In a second, Eiji."

Eiji snuffled, but felt like he might want to smile again soon. "Thanks."

"Go and blow your nose, silly."

* * *

Eiji burst into the club room at afternoon practice. He should have known Oishi would have better advice than Echizen. Echizen's head was too full of tennis to know anything about dating.

"I want to announce that I have a new boyfriend."

Tezuka muttered something that sounded suspiciously like 'thank god', but Eiji chose to ignore that. "You all know him so I hope it's no trouble that I invited him to practice with us."

"Hi everyone desu!"

"Oh no." Oishi's face drained of colour. "Eiji, no."

"Isn't he the most adorable thing ever?" Eiji beamed a smile that blinded half the club and flung himself over Dan's back. Dan laughed even as he staggered under Eiji's weight.

"Eiji! I can't see desu," Dan said, giggling and trying to push up his bandana.

"Fshuu! What's he doing here? He's the enemy."

"Yeah!" Momo stood up. "Not that I'm agreeing with the viper or anything, but you get out of our club-- Ow! Buchou, what was that for?"

"Momoshiro. Don't be rude to guests."

"But you--"

"Ten laps, all of you. Now."

The members of Seigaku's tennis club exchanged several dozen looks, ranging from dubious to terrified, before filing out the club room to join Echizen, who had been chipping away at his record five-hundred laps all week.

Dan wiggled out of Eiji's grasp and tugged Tezuka's sleeve. "Tezuka-san desu? Can I run Eiji's laps with him desu?"

Tezuka regarded Dan extra-seriously, and then inclined his head with great politeness. "You're welcome at Seigaku any time, Dan-kun."

"Really desu? That's so cool, Tez-aah!" Dan flailed his arms as Tezuka seized him by the shirt and yanked him closer.

"One thing, Dan-kun. If you ever break up with him, you and I are going to have a _match_. Understood?"

"Y-yes, Tezuka-san."

"Good. Don't get careless." Tezuka clapped Dan on the shoulder a little more firmly than necessary, and took his clipboard off to supervise the second years.

"Don't worry, Tai-chan," Eiji whispered. He linked his arm through Dan's and pulled him along to the courts, where the others were jogging around the fence. "He's just a bit jealous."

"Kikumaru!" Tezuka shouted as they passed B court. "Make that twenty laps."

"Ex-boyfriend," Eiji said sagely.

"Thirty!"

_Jealous_ he mouthed to Dan, who giggled, and then they both had to run for it as Tezuka set the second years lobbing balls at their heels.


End file.
